B”H
I recently had the opportunity to hear Mrs. Vivi Deren speak in Houston and one of the things that resonated with me the most, was this practical reminder: “You can’t always feel good, but you can always DO good.”
Chassidut teaches us that we have little or no control over the seven emotional attributes of our soul (Only Tzadikim do). What we do have control over, however, are what are referred to as the garments of the soul: our thoughts, speech, and actions.
If we ponder on this a bit, and once we try to apply it, we realize that while we can’t always control our emotions, we can definitely control what we do with them- where we let our thoughts wander, how we verbalize what we’re feeling, and finally how do we act on our feelings. And on an practical level, my friends, just controlling those things is no small feat and probably takes a lifetime of work. I’m up to the challenge. Are you?
Do you agree that we can’t always feel good, but can always DO good? Do you think it’s challenging?
P.S. For an in depth look at this topic you can order the book Garments of the Soul found here.
